NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Padres and ace pitcher Jake Peavy have agreed to the basics of an extension that will guarantee his salary through 2012. Later this week, the sides will try to agree on no-trade protection and salary escalators based on Peavy's performance.

“We're optimistic,” CEO Sandy Alderson said yesterday.

JOHN R. MCCUTCHEN / Union-Tribune

Jake Peavy led the NL this past season in wins, ERA and strikeouts - pitching's version of a Triple Crown.

Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod said he was “very encouraged” after meeting with General Manager Kevin Towers at the winter meetings last night in Nashville. “We are closing in on getting something done,” Axelrod said. “It's not done yet.”

Axelrod reiterated that if Peavy, 26, signs an extension with the Padres, the average annual value would be for less than the $18.3 million annual guaranteed Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano last season.

The agent also said that a three-year extension would have to be worth at least $50 million, so it appears the Padres and Peavy have agreed that Peavy is guaranteed between $50 million and $54 million from 2009-12.

The guarantee likely will include a buyout on a player option for 2013.

Peavy, who is due $6.5 million next year and $11 million in 2009, the final years of a five-year contract that has proven to be a bargain for the Padres, will be guaranteed less than the seven-year, $126 million the Giants committed to free-agent Barry Zito last offseason. From 2009-12, another frontline pitcher, Johan Santana, likely will be due at least $20 million per year if he is traded to the Yankees or Red Sox and signed to an extension.

JAKE PEAVY

Current contract: Due $6.5 million in 2008 and $11 million in 2009.

Possible extension: $50 million deal would lock up the Cy Young Award winner through the 2012 season. Salary incentives and no-trade provisions remain to be worked out.

Quote: “We are closing in on getting something done. It's not done yet.”

– Barry Axelrod, Peavy's agent

Axelrod said Peavy's salary terms reflect his respect for Padres pitching coaches, manager Bud Black and the club's training and conditioning staff, not to mention any pitcher's love of Petco Park.

But Peavy wants the ability to veto a trade to other clubs, hence the no-trade negotiations that await. “If a guy is, in essence, willing to stay here for less because he likes the place, we want to ensure for a significant portion of whatever contract he signs, that he's still going to be here,” Axelrod said.

Peavy isn't the only player the midrevenue Padres are prepared to pay millions. The club has intensified its pursuit of Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, 30, who will sign with an American club if he turns down Japan's Yomiuri Giants. An NL executive said the Padres and the Cubs are “in the hunt” for Fukudome, and Alderson said Fukudome “might be an option.”

Fukudome is more suited to right field, but the Padres also view him as a capable center fielder. A left-handed hitter, Fukudome has a career on-base percentage of .397 and has hit 28-34 home runs in three seasons.

Like Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, he consistently showed power to the opposite field, reducing concerns that Petco Park would overwhelm him.

Towers likened Fukudome's skill set to that of Padres right fielder Brian Giles, though Giles hasn't shown consistent power to the opposite field since the Padres got him in August 2003. Giles, who will turn 37 in January, had microfracture knee surgery in November and it's uncertain whether he will be ready for Opening Day.

Notes

The Padres guaranteed left-handed pitcher Randy Wolf at least $4 million, with incentives that could take the one-year deal up to about $9 million.

The Padres are the first choice of pitcher Matt Clement, but Clement, who like Wolf is coming off shoulder surgery, isn't a high priority for the Padres and is drawing stronger interest from clubs such as the Mariners and Blue Jays, among several others.

Pitcher Brett Tomko, a free agent, said eight clubs have expressed interest in signing him. The Padres are looking at Tomko for their bullpen.

Former Padres center fielder Steve Finley, 42, a San Diego resident, paid his way to Nashville in an effort to prolong his career and is telling clubs he can still play. “This is my first winter meetings,” said Finley, who chatted with Padres officials yesterday. “I've got a lot left in the tank; I keep myself in too good of shape.” The Padres passed on Finley last offseason, but if they sign Mike Cameron, they will need a center fielder while Cameron serves a 25-game suspension to open the season.